Car Review: 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

By Jim Leggett, Montreal Gazette

Originally published: December 11, 2012

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The week I tested the 2013 Shelby GT500 coincided with the annual vintage races at the picturesque and historic Circuit Mont Tremblant. And unbeknownst to me, I would have an opportunity to meet one of the two men who made the imposing GT500 possible.

The bright-red car with bold white stripes, motivated by the most powerful V8 engine at the time of its launch, felt quite at home with the colourful and noisy race cars. It was entirely capable of turning competitive lap times in the GT class.

This comes as no surprise because the GT500 is, in fact, an homage to the man who created the legend that carries his name: Carroll Shelby. A former race driver himself, the tall Texan was hired by Ford to take their Mustangs to the top of the winner’s podium, much like he had done with the AC roadster stuffed full of Ford V8 power.

The pinnacle of the original Mustangs were the GT350 and GT500, when Carroll Shelby terminated his agreement with Ford in the summer of 1969. Unsold 1969 models were given 1970 vehicle identification numbers (VIN) under FBI supervision. The 1970 models had two minor changes – a front chin spoiler and two black hood stripes. A total of 789 cars were re-VIN’d and we would not see any more of these muscle cars for the next 40 years, until Ford reintroduced the GT 500. Unfortunately, the automotive world lost Carroll Shelby in May at the age of 89.

“He (Shelby) was a personal friend who I will miss every day,” said James Farley Jr., Ford Motor Co.’s group vice-president of global marketing, sales and service. “I spoke with him every couple of days as we worked on different projects.”

Farley was in Mont Tremblant, racing his 1965 427 Cobra, and it was obvious both on and off the track that he is a hardcore car guy.

“Today’s Shelby GT500 came about from a conversation I had with Carroll,” he said when we spoke at the track. “I suggested we build a car with the same philosophy as his race cars, no compromises.”

The Shelby GT500 returned to the streets in 2010 but, like any gearhead will tell you, there can always be more power and better handling.

For 2013, the GT500 was given some revised front sheet metal to help improve its aerodynamic handling. With a possible top speed of 202 mph, airflow and downforce becomes a very real issue and Ford says the changes have resulted in a 14-per-cent reduction in drag and a 66-percent increase in front-end down-force.

Looking at the front of the 2013 GT500, you may notice it has no grille. No, nobody backed into it – and it was not forgotten at the factory. It’s not there due to the massive amount of cooling required for the 5.8-litre supercharged, aluminum block V8 that produces 650 horsepower and 600 foot-pounds of torque. This engine uses a Ford-patented Plasma Transferred Wire Arc (PTWA) cylinder liner coating – a special process that applies a 150-micron composite coating containing nanoparticles on the internal surfaces of the cylinder bores, replacing the heavier cast-iron liners typically used in aluminum engine blocks. The cooling system sports a larger fan and a three-row intercooler where the previous model used a double-row unit.

All that horsepower goes through a beefed-up Tremec six-speed transmission equipped with a more aggressive clutch and its own oil pump with a cooler. Spanning the gap between the trans and the Torsen limited-slip differential is a lightweight carbon-fibre driveshaft. Even the differential gets its own oil-to-air cooler mounted up in the nose.

For improved handling, the the optional Performance Package includes a larger front antiroll bar, two-mode adjustable Bilstein dampers and retuned springs – all assisted with a four-mode electronic stability control. Braking capabilities are upgraded with Brembo units with ABS.

The GT500 rolls along on beautiful forged 19-inch (front) and 20-inch (rear) aluminum alloy wheels painted a dark titanium colour. Tires are a set of high-performance Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar G2: P265/40R19 in front and P285/35R20 in back. That’s a lot of rubber on the road!

The SVT Package ($3,300) and Performance Package ($2,000) includes more than mechanical boosts such as special rear springs, instrument cluster and gearshift knob. The front seats are treated to white racing stripes to match the exterior paint and, of course, include six-way power adjustments for the driver plus power lumbar.

The test car also had the panoramic glass roof ($2,200), an electronics package including voice-activated navigation ($2,300), leather Recaro seats ($1,000) and Shaker audio system ($1,000).

The 2013 Shelby GT500 has all the credentials to proudly carry the Shelby name. As Farley and Shelby set out to create a muscle car with an enormously powerful V8, they have added another milestone to the great legacy of Ford and Shelby.

Motor Trend magazine reports that the GT500 has an acceleration time from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 11.6 seconds at over 201 km/h. I have no reason to doubt these numbers from my experience. The massive amount of torque available is instantaneous thanks to the supercharger’s direct drive from the crankshaft.

Driving the Shelby GT500 on the streets elicited thumbs-up from every kid in the neighbourhood, and driving home from Circuit Mont Tremblant meant running an endless gauntlet of wannabe racers challenging the mighty Shelby to a duel.

I recommend you resist the urge to prove your dominance on public roads and simply smile in the knowledge that just about any other car you’re likely to encounter can be made to disappear in the rear-view mirror by dropping the hammer on the right pedal.